August Blog Challenge Day 4

Today's discussion point is: "A Habit That You Wish You Didn't Have"...

Oh there are so many, where should I start? I think I might actually have to list them out here with an action plan....

1. Watching too much television. I am in the habit of turning the television on the moment I get home or get up. It should just be background noise for me, but it isn't. Sadly, even though I tell myself I'm not going to do it, as soon as the television is turned on, but couch develops an ass magnet and I am trapped. I have tried to come up with a couple of different ways to overcome this bad habit. On the days that I work from home, rather than turn on the TV and become distracted, I am listening to my Audible books. They provide the same sort of background noise (plot, character development, etc.) that the television does, which activates a certain part of my brain that just listening to music doesn't quite fill, but I'm not distracted by the shiny, moving pictures. Another way I am considering conquering this habit is by getting rid of the television altogether....well, okay, maybe not get rid of the television just the cable and instead get the replacement to the rabbit ears so that I only have the local channels and only in real time....this will cut out a lot of the time that is spent watching recorded shows....But, I doubt if I'll actually go through with that one. 
2. Eating ice cream...I have developed a terrible habit of eating ice cream all the time, for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I get a craving for ice cream and instead of refocusing myself on something else that is better for me (like an apple) I will get in the car, drive to Walmart and buy some ice cream. I will then sit and eat the ice cream until I am sick. So, how am I going to conquer this, well it is two-fold and is also part of the first step of a long term goal that I am working on (having a viable budget and savings program)...I have challenged myself to NOT go to the grocery store without a list and to NOT buy anything that is not on the list. I sit down and figure out what meals I will have in the upcoming week and what I need to prepare them and make a list based on that plan. I have also challenged myself that in the month of August I am not going to buy anything for myself, other than the obvious necessities like food and gas. So, this actually leads me to the next bad habit: 
3. Spending money all willy-nilly. I am very bad about just going to Target and buying a shirt or a sweater or going out to Amazon and buying a book or something that I just DO NOT NEED. At this moment in time, there is nothing, aside from food, that I need. I have plenty of clothes, shoes, books, makeup, fabric, etc. etc. etc. and do not need to randomly buy stuff. I am challenging myself to NOT do this. Now, I say that, but there is one thing that I intend to purchase in the month of August and that will be paint and paint supplies for painting my house; I know it is not a necessity, but in order to achieve my goals it is something that I will need to do. 

Okay, those are 3 of the bad habits that I have and how in the next month I'm going to try and exorcise them from my being. Once I get those conquered, there are plenty more to take their place....

August Blog Challenge Day 3

Today's question and blog topic is "Why You Are Doing this Blog Challenge?"

Well, I'm doing it because I've fallen out of the habit of blogging regularly and this challenge gives me a reason to sit down and actually come up with something to say. It may not be something of importance or interest but it is making me sit and have cohesive thoughts and put them down in writing. With luck, this will inspire me to stick to it past the 31 days of the challenge. Perhaps it will lead me to challenge myself in other ways to keep up with my writing or to expand my writing. Or, perhaps, it will convince me that I don't have anything of relevance to say and perhaps it is time to hang up the ABBA blog and move on to something else....

We are 3 days into it, so there is still no telling where this might take us. But "they" say that it takes 21 days to make something a habit, so maybe by day 31 the writing habit will be fully ingrained in me that I just won't be able to stop.

August Blog Challenge Day 2

Today's challenge is to document some short term goals for the month.

Since there isn't a set number of how many goals are needed, I'll go with 5:

1. Blog every day. I need to do this so that I can keep those creative juices flowing and so that I can uphold my promise that I made to my readers when I took on this challenge. 
2. Determine which paints I want to use. Purchase the paints and complete the painting of at least the bedroom. I need to do this so that I can then rearrange the whole house and get my studio set up differently. 
3. Move my quilt studio to its new, more convenient location. If I relocate my studio downstairs, then I know I will be more likely to do at least some sewing or designing or quilting thinking on a daily basis. 
4. Run a mile...without stopping....okay, jog a mile at a pace slightly faster than a walk. I have to get this first mile accomplished if I'm ever going to complete the half marathons that I'm signed up for. Once I get this first mile done, I figure the rest will just fall into place. 
5. Cook at least 3 meals from scratch every week. I figure that if I actually cook meals from scratch, and then have the leftovers the next day for dinner, then I'll be saving money by not eating out and I'll be eating healthier as I'll know what I'm actually putting into my mouth. 

August Blog Challenge Day 1

Well, we are starting the August Blog Challenge. Today I am to provide a recent picture of myself and 15 interesting facts. So, here is a recent picture:

1. I recently learned about snow cones and have that I really like them. 
2. I enjoy cooking, but don't really appreciate my own food. I would much rather cook for others. 
3. I am addicted to listening to Audible books on my Kindle...they get me through my day. 
4. For that matter, I'm addicted to my Kindle and find it very handy to take with me for reading where ever I have time. 
5. I am taking up ceramics this fall. I have grand dreams or turning my back porch into a pottery studio...but I have to wait for that first class and learn slowly. Who knows, maybe I'll have a whole new art format to go crazy about. 
6. I am picking out paint colors for my house. I figure I've been in the house going on 3 years now and still haven't really put "my" stamp on it. 
7. I have signed up for not 1 but 2 Half Marathons this fall. I don't know what I was thinking and I haven't even started training...we'll see how that turns out. 
8. I love how my dog smells, not all the time but when he first wakes up in the morning. I think he smells like frito corn chips....I know, weird, huh?
9. I often wonder how my life would be different if the University of Texas had won a certain football game in November of 1985. 
10. I can't decide what kind of new car I want to purchase....or do I want to just duct tape and chicken wire together my current car and keep it going for a while longer. 
11. I despise house keeping, but really like to have a clean house....need to get maid service included in budget. 
12. I've recently started attending a Universal Unitarian church and am greatly enjoying learning more about it. 
13. I want to travel more and see more of this world. My next big trip is going to be to Hawaii but I also want to take some road trips across this great country. 
14. Once in a great while I purchase lottery tickets. I've never won and half the time I forget about them and only check a couple of weeks later....in fact, I think I have a couple that I need to take a look at. 
15. I feel very strongly that the US corporate world needs to adopt a siesta program where every worker is required to take a nap in the afternoon. Think how much more productive we could be....

Okay, so, a very random set of 15 questions and very difficult to come up with, but they are done. Enjoy....

For Kathleen

Finally, the quilt for Kathleen's graduation is complete. I just picked it up from the quilter and now need to schedule some time to hand it off to our graduate so that she can take it with her to college.

Here is a shot of almost the whole quilt. It is a queen size quilt and it is difficult to take a picture of it without it being held up and I step away from it.

A close up of the Dresden plate square:

Close up of my favorite block in the quilt:

The quilter included in the quilt "To Kathleen, Love Andrea".

Hopefully, this will be well loved and well used and will need to be replaced upon graduation from college.